Page:Kutenai Tales.djvu/258

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Kutenai Tales
243

tent. I Raven brought out the musk bag. He worked over it, | and it became a pup. Skunk did not go in. | The pup was tied up at the doorway. It went to him || and was glad. He said: "What did they 256 do to me, Tso't?" It knew him; | therefore it did so. But Raven did not know that it was he. | Then Skunk sat down. He was given food. Then | he ate. The food was bad, for there was nothing | in him. He did not eat much. He did not eat more, because his insides were bad, || because he was dry inside. He was told by Grizzly 260 Bear: | "You should go on." He arose. Skunk went out, and where | he stood up, there was meat. A child said: | "There lies some meat." Raven said: "Don't | eat it. He dropped it from his mouth. Children must not oat it. I'll || eat it myself." Skunk 266 entered Grizzly Bear's tent and | was given food. Here again he could not eat much. When he stopped, | he went out ; and there was meat again where he stood up, | and Grizzly Bear himself ate it. It was what Skunk had oaten. | Because he had no belly, when he ate, II it went right through him. | 270

Then, when it was about evening, Raven went out. j He said : "Come out and play! | You have a toy." Then they all went out. Then | they brought out the pup. A little distance away they put it down. || Then they kicked it. It ran, and they ran after it. | When they 275 caught up with it, they lacked it. Then Skunk had pity | on his musk bag. When it saw him, it almost | ran up to him. Then he nodded his head the other way. Skunk thought: j "I am thirsty. It might hurt me. Later on, to-morrow, || I'll take it back." At 280 night they stopped playing. Then j skun,k went to the river. He jumped in and soaked himself. | In the morning and all day he soaked himself. When the sun was going down, | they played again. He thought: "I'll take back | my musk bag." They went on play- ing. Then Skunk || sat down a little ways off. He thought: | "It 285 might hurt me." They chased it toward him, and it went there, j Then it turned back and came back. Then he nodded his head to it, I and it came running this way. It came, and they could not catch up with it. Then | Skunk turned himself toward it, and his musk bag went to him. || It got into him again and threw him down. 290 Skunk got up. | They said to one another: "Don't look at him, for it is Skunk. | He himself took back his musk bag." Their toy was gone. I Now I have told what Skunk and his brother did.